Talk:SorryNotSorry/@comment-5483266-20160328062119
Season 2 is AMAZING thus far! I'm only on 2x09 but after binge-watching five episodes in one night I can say with conviction that this is an improvement over the last. I wholeheartedly enjoyed S1 too but it was more of a slow burn, which was necessary to establish the world of Hell's Kitchen whereas this season retains all the compelling introspective aspects of the first while combining breakneck action with fascinating new characters. *I'm so pleased with this show's treatment of Karen. Although Daredevil is ostensibly Matt's story, Karen actually has agency and is given the chance to shine brilliantly as a character independent of the male protagonist. I love that she's the heart and moral compass of the show; she's brave, kind, inquisitive, resilient, compassionate, diligent and badass, assertive, stubborn and feisty in equal measure. She has officially ascended to queen status and is currently my favourite. ♥ *I never thought I'd say this but Frank is honestly in the running for my favourite male character on the show. He's left such a strong impression on me in just a handful of episodes. He's a weary, broken, damaged and disturbed antihero as selfish as he is selfless, brutal as he is poignant, and as callous as he is vulnerable. This is a man without pretension, who has lost EVERYTHING and is adapting to his pain the only way he knows how, through compulsion. I still love Matt, but he's been acting irrationally as of late and frustrating me with his decision to keep Karen in the dark about his identity. It's Westallen all over again. I'm getting so disillusioned with these superhero narratives wherein they withhold the truth from their love interests out of some patronizing belief that dishonesty will protect rather than further endanger them. Now Matt's always projected a rather closed-off and detached exterior because happiness doesn't come to him easily and he weaponizes his emotions, but some of the reasons why I ship Karedevil are precisely because they work so well together, Karen naturally connects with him and coaxes the softness and humanity Matt struggles to conceal out of him - and it's also why his breakdown in front of her resonated so deeply with me. It's upsetting that they seem to be drifting apart due to their fundamental differences in ideology and their contrasting spectrums of morality but I have hope that they will mend their relationship and that they are still compatible together. *I love Elektra, I really do. At first she seemed like the proverbial bored, enigmatic, hedonistic "poor little rich girl" archetype but she's so much more than that. I enjoyed her narrative arc and seeing how that coincided with Matt's own battle against the Yakuza. By the second half of the season, she felt like a fully realized human being and I loved that she showed some self-awareness and emotional depth beyond the vampy HBIC she presents herself as. I appreciate her scenes with Matt although I'm ambivalent about the ship itself. They have great chemistry and a long, complicated history and while I do believe that Elektra genuinely loves him, I simply cannot overlook the toxicity inherent in this pairing. She is a terrible influence on Matt; she seeks to provoke his darkest instincts against his will out of a twisted notion that she is awakening his true self, all the while leeching off his innate goodness to fulfill the bleak void within her own. She appears to be more romantically attuned to Daredevil rather than Matt Murdock and is a crucial reason as to why Matt has such trouble reconciling his alter ego with his everyday persona. That being said, Elodie is a fantastic (and gorgeous af) actress, and I'm grateful for the semblance of Asian representation her presence offers on this show. I hope she returns in the next season. *I was not prepared to have these potent Kastle feels but omfg, I love their subtle yet powerful kinship. Their interactions were so beautiful and I adore how Karen brings out this endearing tender side of Frank that he reserves only for her. He trusts and respects her (he calls her ma'am which military officers do in deference to their superiors al;skdskdfj), they believe in each other, and their bond is one of my favourite and most intriguing storylines of the season. Karen doesn't idealize, judge, or romanticize Frank; rather, the root of her empathy lies in that she sees in him a kindred spirit, someone who provides her hope - hope that she herself is not irredeemable and hasn't lost her human, moral essence in spite of having taken lives before. Karen sees Frank for the man he was and still is, in full recognition that he has committed monstrous deeds, without stigmatizing his troubled psyche. I love their dynamic and I want more. I don't think it's a coincidence that Karen bears a striking resemblance to Frank's late wife, which perhaps explains his immediate attraction and affinity for her and could also be foreshadowing for the future if Karedevil don't work out. Why yes, I have fallen for these two. I am trash. I don't care. *Omg, I was not expecting to see the return of Wilson "i fight like Bowser and speak like Snape" Fisk! I wonder what his plans for Frank entail since I know he's no longer the true enemy this time.